System/3 - full IPL from the start. Lots of blinkenlights!

[dimbulb23]

To be specific, this is a System 3 model 10. There were also System 3s models 6,8,12,15 and 15D. I was a hardware and software trained field service person on them from around 1972 till about 1980 when they were largely replaced for newer technology. The larger models did have a Console Monitor for commands and these could run up at 150 other terminals & devices.

In that era they were the most numerous commercial computers in the world for small businesses.

[abaduck]

I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so:

I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

(For avoidance of doubt on Wikipedia linking)

[abaduck]

jcrobso, please get in touch... I need help fixing my 5424!

[jcrobso]

System 3 was from the mid 1970s. It used a mini punched cards. It was a general purpose small main frame computer. I serviced them when I worked for IBM.

[16mmDJ]

Is this basically a computer, just a very early one? or does it serve a more specific purpose?

[abaduck]

It's a middle-aged computer - late 60s / early 70s. Runs basic accounting/reporting type applications exclusively off punched cards; no interactive capability whatever. If you want to tell it to do something there's nothing resembling a command line: you have to punch the commands to run a program onto cards offline on a punch machine, then read the cards in...it talks back to you by displaying codes on the front LED and printing messages on the printer.

[kinmanyuen]

lol it has a big ressemblance of my heating system in my house^^

[vaalavurabarbun]

ciao! I'm Italian and my father was the inventor of ALU and CPU of IBM S/3 in 1967. I was born in 1968 in Rochester. Thank's...and buona fortuna!

[retrocomputingtassie]

"If I set the switch to option 3" (rotating the second-from-right rotary dial - middle of cabinet)

"Hit start"

"Its come up nine"

"Hit start again"

"It continues processing"

"EJ, end of job" (pointing at letters EJ lower right display)

"The IPL or boot process is now completed."

[retrocomputingtassie]

"If I set the switch to option 3" (rotating the second-from-right rotary dial - middle of cabinet)

"Hit start"

"Its come up nine"

"Hit start again"

"It continues processing"

"EJ, end of job" (pointing at letters EJ lower right display)

"The IPL or boot process is now completed."

***** You need to read the comments from the bottom of this page to the stop to get the sub-titling sequence to make sense ******

[retrocomputingtassie]

"At this point, no check light on,"

"But I have found if you hit Check Reset" (lifting panel top of machine)

"Off it goes again."

"Code 9" (pointing to digit 9 on middle-right display)

"That's an error code that indicates that the card reader is offline, which it certainly

is, since..."

"So we can Start/Contine" (pressing the green button on the lower-left of the lower right button panel)

"Ah, that did not work."

[retrocomputingtassie]

Very nicely designed front-panel on that IBM System 3, here is my attempt at sub-titling the dialogue:

"Well, the System 3 is up and running."

"And, here is how we IPL it." IPL = Initial Program Load or Bootstrap it

"All the lights work, the lamp test" (Pressing blue button middle of cabinet)

"Disk is ready" (pointing at middle green backlit switch lower left)

"Everything is ready to go"

[kinglonewolf104]

A pretty cool video. I can't really here what you are saying though... old computers are so noisy! Have you thought of adding some subtitles via annotations?

&eB